Suikoden: A Journey Abroad
by Eroschilles
Summary: Fifteen years after Suikoden II, Riou, Jowy, and Nanami are traveling and have picked up a new companion. There may be some spoilers. Rated PG13 for mild language and suggestive content. My first fic and still in progress, so comments are welcome.
1. First Meeting

Chapter I: First Meeting 

Walking through the forest parted by a well-worn path were three young adults; two young looking boys and a slightly older looking young lady. The trio was traversing over a light dusting of snow, merely one half of an inch. The boys were fine with the cold weather because they were wearing weighty cloaks. The girl, on the other hand, was obviously not fine. She was shivering and her teeth were clattering rather loudly.

The brown haired boy then asked, "Nanami, do you want to borrow my cloak for a little bit?"

"Now Riou, what kind of big sister would I be if I took your cloak and let you freeze to death? And besides, I'm perfectly fine. Not even a little bit cold." Nanami responded. The boy with the long blonde hair pulled back into a French braid began to laugh and said, "We could've bought you a cloak too, but you insisted that you were fine without. I tried to tell that just because winter's ending here doesn't mean it's not going to be cold."

"Jowy, I'm not cold and I thought it was just going to be a little bit warmer. That's all." Nanami insisted indignantly. "Anyways, where are we going now? You said you read about this place before and all, but haven't we been in Harmonia enough? Didn't we see enough when we first came here fifteen years ago?"

Riou responded for Jowy: "We're going to the Grasslands, but we don't want to cut through Dunan because we might be recognized and that would be bad. I don't want any complications." "Ohhh" was Nanami's only reply. Jowy continued, "Yeah, we wanted to see some of the tribes. Lucia is from the Grasslands."

"Hey! Wait! Why is it that I never get a vote in where we go?"

"Hm, Good question. I don't know, but something has been bothering me a lot recently. It's been fifteen years since we left Dunan and started travel, right?" They stop moving and Riou and Nanami nod their heads in agreement. "Riou and I haven't aged at all, which is because of the true runes we bear, but, Nanami, you haven't aged much either and I don't know why. I mean, you don't have a true rune or anything, do you?"

"Maybe I just age very gracefully. Hey! Don't laugh, I'm being serious. Okay, so it's been fifteen years and I should look a little older. What's the big deal? I mean..."

Nanami was interrupted by Riou when he asked of her and Jowy, "Did you hear that?" Jowy said "Yes" as he pulled out his bow and set his bags down and got ready to fight. Nanami and Riou followed suite and took out their weapons and prepared for battle as Jowy called out, "Who's there?"

"MOO!" was the only reply and it came from a tree back in the woods. The trio just sighed, looked at each other, and shook their heads as they heard muffled shouts. A low, rough voice could be heard by all saying, "Shit you idiot, now they know we're here."

Then the voice that made the "moo" noise asked, "But Boss what does it matter? There's just three of 'em and three hundred of us. No problem to kill 'em all, but I would like to have a little fun with the girl before we kill her."

"Listen you dumbass, didn't you hear 'em talkin' 'bout some true runes or somethin'? They could be strong, but it doesn't matter. We'll take whatever they have." The "Boss" told his lackey. The trio looked at each other worriedly and Riou asked, "Did he just say three hundred?"

"Come on, we can take 'em. Right?" Nanami asked nervously. "Looks like we'll have to." Jowy said. The "Boss" yelled a cliché battle charge: "Charge!" Then literally hundreds of men came from both sides of the path surrounding the trio as the desperate fight began.

Off in the woods high in a tree on a branch sat a young looking man dressed in a black cape, boots, and brandishing a hand-and-a-half handed arming sword with a well decorated handle. He sighed, shook his head, and muttered something about having to actually do something. Saying to himself (or the voices in his head), "Better go help, don't want them dieing. Shu wouldn't like it much if Genkaku's boy perished. They're close to the Grasslands now anyways. Once they pass over those mountains, they're practically there." He started to hop gradually downwards from branch to branch when he grabbed his side in pain and fell the rest of the seventy- five some feet and landed on his head.

After he got up he said, "Well, that was graceful. Ouch! She's getting herself hurt. I better hurry." Then started to run at an incredible speed and arrived at the outer rim of the group of ruffians who couldn't get into the fighting because their comrades were in their way. Slowing down, but still at a run the youth unsheathed his sword with his right hand and began to cut his way through the crowd. It took a full two seconds to notice the boy cutting through their comrades before the ruffians started to try to kill him. After the boy cut open his seventh bandit, he actually had people who were fighting back. Without much room to wield his sword, the youth was forced to sheath it had to fight with his hands and feet. Grabbing the base of one of his opponents' weapons and hurling him the way he came he made sure that he was clear from behind for now. He then jumped up and lightly ran across the heads of the people trying to kill him.

Now that he could actually see the fight at the centre, he could see that he was needed even more badly. Jowy was using his true rune to cut through the bandits while Nanami was thumping away with her weapon and Riou was trying to keep every one healed with his rune as well as use it to help keep the bandits at bay. Riou was sweating badly with Jowy looking exhausted as well. Nanami was using pure adrenaline to fight and hadn't really noticed the not too serious cut on her left side. Bodies were strewn all over the place, at least sixty were down and never moving again on their own accord.

The boss of the bandits was wisely staying out harms way, but not for long. The as of yet unidentified youth ran up to the centre and cast a lightning spell knocking back and down the bandits immediately surrounding the trio. The trio looked up at the floating boy and watched as he launched a ball of odd lightning and fire mixed energy in the general direction of the ruffians' boss who moved out of the way. The ball struck near where the bandits' boss had been and killed many bandits and wounding more. As the youth sent his mix ball at the bandits it revealed his distinctly pointed ears that were hidden beneath his long blonde hair that was pulled tightly back into a French braid, not unlike Jowy's. Only Nanami picked this up during the confusion though.

The bandits' boss decided that whatever the group may posses was not worth the losses that his band of ruffians were suffering and yelled,"Run away!" from a distance while he was already long gone. The youth floated down to the ground and closed his eyes, concentrating on healing the trio. After Jowy, Riou, and Nanami realized that he had healed them Nanami ran up to him and said, "Thanks, you saved our lives. My name's Nanami and this is my brother Riou and our friend Jowy. Who are you?"

The youth answered: "I'm Teddy. And I umm... know who you guys are. And to be honest, I've been tailing you since the war ended fifteen years ago. I'm kind of a stalker." Nanami just said "oh" and Jowy asked, "Are you Harmonian? You have a Harmonian accent and your hair is blonde, just like a Harmonians'. Even lighter than mine."

Nanami turned around and looked at Jowy like "huh?" and Teddy replied, "No, I'm not exactly Harmonian, but could we discuss this later? I want to treat the bandits that are wounded." Jowy, Riou, and Nanami just looked at him like he was an idiot until Nanami asked, "Umm... Why? They were trying to kill us. They are bad people. Besides I think that their friends will come back and help them."

Before Teddy could respond Riou asked, "Would you care to come with us? You obviously know who we are and I'm curious to know who you are and why you have been following us for this long."

"Yeah, come on. It'll be fun. But hurry up, I'm starting to get cold and it's getting dark and starting to snow again." Nanami encouraged. "Okay, I'll come with you guys. I owe you an explanation anyways. There is a town at the bottom of the mountain about a mile away. We can rest at the inn, my treat. Then we can discuss why you want to go to the Grasslands when I hear there's a war brewing there."


	2. Introductions and Explanantions

Chapter II: Introductions and Explanations  
  
The three old friends and their new acquaintance were sitting at a table of the local inn going over what Teddy had told them the night before. "So you're telling us that you have been following us for the past fifteen years to ensure our safety because Riou's strategist was afraid that he might get harmed? And that you're the reason why Nanami isn't aging anymore? Where you hired to do theses things? Why and how?" Jowy asked of Teddy.  
  
"No, I wasn't hired to this. I knew Viktor and Flik from a previous war and I was a part of there mercenary group before the Dunan Unification War, but I was away in Toran when Luca Blight invaded Jowston. I came back the night before Riou killed Luca and spoke with Viktor and Flik. They told me what was going on and I agreed to help as I could. I fought in Flik's unit for battles, but I didn't want to use everything I had because I was trying to keep a low profile. I just go around when the one hundred and eight Stars of Destiny are gathering and to help them, but after the war Shu asked me to tail Riou here for awhile and make sure he would stay safe because Shu thought he was going to run off looking for you, which he did. And I thought it would be nice if Nanami wouldn't get all old and decrepit on you two as you guys traveled and I did it because I like you kids." Teddy lengthily replied.  
  
"You don't look that much older than us." Nanami stated.  
  
"That's because I used to have a true rune in my right hand. But I put it into your right hand, Nanami. How else was I supposed to keep you from aging? See, I gave you the True Rune of Immortality. No matter what, you will never die." Said Teddy.  
  
"What!?!?" Nanami screamed, "Never? That's a long frickin' time! What if I want to die?"  
  
"Then I can take it back." He said coolly. "But you should calm down and stop yelling. Don't draw attention towards yourself."  
  
"But wait. If you don't have the True Rune of Immortality anymore, can't you grow old or die? I haven't aged for awhile, so you must've given me this rune awhile ago, but you look like you haven't aged much. And exactly how old are you?" Nanami asked.  
  
"Well unfortunately for me I shall never die, with or without that rune. I don't know why, but I've been cursed with this inability to rest as a normal person does when their life ends. And well to be truthful, I'm almost one thousand years old." Teddy answered.  
  
"Wow! That sucks." Nanami said as Riou and Jowy nodded their heads in agreement.  
  
"Yep. But I did find a nifty true rune a few years back after the Gate Rune Wars. I was searching the ruble of the collapsed castle looking for the other half of the Gate Rune for Miss Leknaat, but instead of finding that I find the Sovereign Rune. I used the True Rune of Immortality to force it out of the fallen emperor's sword and into mine here. I could sense that the other half of the Gate Rune had left by itself through the ground, so I just left." Teddy informed them.  
  
"That's nice. So are you going to be traveling with us into Grassland? We're going even if there is a war. We'll just stay out of the way. Since you've been around awhile, maybe you could be our guide and maybe tell us where we can avoid fights." Jowy said.  
  
"Sure thing, but it's not just an ordinary war. The Stars of Destiny are going to gather again too." Agreed Teddy.  
  
"Well then, it's settled. Now all we have to do is find a way over these mountains. They probably won't let us through if a war is about to break out. So we'll think of a way and stay another night and buy all of the supplies we'll need. Including enough cloaks just in case one of us gets cold. Not naming anyone, Nanami." Riou stops speaking so everyone can turn and look and stare at Nanami to let it be known that he is, in fact, naming the person who was cold from lack of a cloak.  
  
"Hey." Nanami said indignantly, "I really wasn't cold, but since we are going over mountains it'll be a good idea. I don't know if we have enough money though." Turning with puppy dog eyes on Teddy. "You seem to have a lot of money; maybe you could spare some for me, Mr. Cute Guy With Pointy Ears? Please?"  
  
"Sure thing." Acquiesced Teddy.  
  
While Jowy sat there looking dumbfounded, Riou asked, "Wait, you have pointy ears? Are you an elf?"  
  
"Umm... Sort of. I'm half elf. Shall we get to the purchasing of the supplies?" Teddy said while getting up from the table. He held out his hand to help Nanami get up from the table while Riou got up and stared at Jowy who was still sitting there dumbfounded.  
  
"Umm... how did she know he had pointy ears?" Jowy asked Riou. Riou just shrugged and waited for Jowy to get up from the table and then they both walked over to where Teddy and Nanami were making arrangements to stay another night with the inn keeper. 


	3. Walk in the Town

Chapter III: Walk in the Town  
  
The town called Fraesteria is like any other town inside the border of a huge empire. It is not too big, even though it has a large military garrison inside of it. The people of the town have the look of angst mixed with serenity in their eyes. The possibility of war has always been there, but it has never come. Situated at the base of a mountain which gets a fair amount of trade is a great thing for the people of the town. The mountains that lay behind them are a bluish-grey with snow covered tops and have little vegetation growing upon them. The path up the mountains is at the rear of the town and comes at the end of the main road of the town. The town was once a part of another country, but was subjugated by Holy Harmonia years before. Near the entrance of the town are the houses of the people who were subjugated and are now third-class citizens; and their houses are, by far, not the very best. The houses are made from rock taken from the bottom of the mountain and are all the same colour of bluish-grey with no decoration: they are basic block shaped houses. The road into town is a standard dirt road that was well traveled and goes all the way back to the path up the mountain. The town's main road has another road that splits off from it and goes in the direction of the military garrison. The town is surrounded by a wall made of the same substance as the cheap houses belonging to the third-class citizens and is the same bluish-grey. Towards the mountain path and garrison are the first class houses that belong to the Harmonians that come to Fraesteria for business purposes. Their houses are much finer looking than the third-class' houses. There are two inns in the town to suite the two different kinds of people that come in; the upper- class and the lower-class. The lower-class inn is next to all the shops near the third-class citizens' houses. The upper-class inn was farther back between the garrison and the mountain path. Whereas the lower-class inn was merely for resting when one must, the upper-class inn had many more benefits – such as a nice view of the mountains and a heated spa out back. It was the latter of the two inns that Teddy had opted to treat the group to.  
  
The group consisted of three boys and one girl. The girl's about five feet and eight inches tall. She has brown hair that's cropped past her ears and she has brown eyes. The shortest boy is five feet and nine and a half inches tall with brown hair. He has a golden headband wrapped around his head and has brown eyes. The other two boys are about the same height; five feet and ten inches tall. They also both have blonde hair that is long and tied back into a French braid. But the one with the lighter blonde hair has turquoise eyes, whereas the other one has hazel colored eyes. The boy with the turquoise eyes also had elf ears, but they are hidden underneath his hair. His face is also a little rounder and shorter than the other boys face which is long and slim.  
  
The group was heading towards the hardware store that sold numerous items when a man wearing a heavy black cloak stepped forth from a side street and ran into Nanami and turning around only to glare at her as if it had been he who had been run into.  
  
He tried to continue on his way, but was stopped when Teddy laid his hand on the man's shoulder and smiled as he said, "Sir, I would appreciate it if you returned that money which you stole from my friend here."  
  
The man turned around again, but this time instead of glaring, he was sweating and his eyes were darting around. He was definitely looking conspicuous. His eyes were a light blue and his hair was a dark brown. Nanami was looking perplexed and then looked down at her waist where she kept her purse and found that it was missing. She was about to pummel the guy when Jowy and Riou leapt forth to prevent her from doing so.  
  
"Look mister, I don't have a clue what you're talkin' about and I don't have to stand here and listen to these unfounded accusations." The man said as he turned around and prepared to leave when Teddy turned him around and picked him up by the neck so he was dangling in the air by a couple of inches.  
  
"Sir, I'm insisting that you return the money that you took. You may go about your business once it is returned. Or must I get the local authorities to get the money from you?" Teddy inquired calmly. The man now looked panicked because he wasn't expecting this much trouble from a kid who was shorter than he was  
  
"Okay. I'll give it back to you guys. Just let me down." The man said with a slightly strained voice. So Teddy dropped him and held out his hand while behind him Nanami was still being restrained by Riou and Jowy. The man handed over the purse and then turned around and ran away.  
  
Teddy turned around looking content to face Nanami who was still fuming, but had been released by Riou and Jowy. "Why didn't you let me show that guy what it means to take a lady's purse? Well thank you for getting it back anyways." Nanami said.  
  
"No problem. Let's go get what we need now, so we can leave first thing in the morning. I want to take a bathe in the spa before we go to sleep tonight." Suggested Teddy.  
  
Jowy looked at Teddy and asked, "How are we going to cross the mountains when they won't let anyone through because of the impending war?"  
  
"We'll just go through the mountain pass. I have ways of convincing people to let me do what I need to." Teddy said smiling. Riou shrugged his shoulders and continued walking towards the hardware store. Nanami ran to catch up with him as Jowy asked Teddy another question: "How come no one here looks worried about a war that only you seem to know of?"  
  
"That's because I got information from a Harmonian spy that a bishop is planning on invading the Grasslands in search of true runes. So for a mission this important and secretive, you cannot go around telling the populace." Teddy said quietly.  
  
Jowy looked at him and nodded his head in understanding. Teddy turned around and ran into a huge man about seven feet tall and four feet across, looking to be one hundred percent muscle. He was wearing some type of animal skin that reeked as if it had never been washed and Teddy mumbled, "What now?"  
  
"Are you the guy who took my man's earnings away from him?" Roared the giant of a man.  
  
"I don't have time to fight every disgruntled thief right now. I actually have a life besides beating the crap out of people like you. And where are the authorities in this town?" Teddy asked.  
  
"HAHAHAHA! You think that the Harmonians care what happens in this part of town? You're stupider than I thought. And I don't care what you say, I'm going to kill you and take all of your money!" The giant oaf said as he pulled an axe out. He had begun to swing as Nanami jumped up and smacked him in the back of the head with her nun-chucka, knocking him out cold. Teddy stepped aside and Jowy leapt back as the big oaf fell loudly on the ground.  
  
"Thanks Nanami. I owe you one. Shall we?" Teddy gestures towards the hardware store. Jowy walks around the fallen man and goes into the hardware store with Riou following. Teddy walks up to Nanami and she says, "No problem, but I'm sure you could've that yourself."  
  
Teddy just nods as they enter the hardware store where Nanami asks, "So, um, Teddy, are you going to still buy me that cloak?" with her big puppy dog eyes.  
  
"Ha! Sure, but you don't have to do those puppy eyes. I said I would and I'm going to. I have plenty of money; I've been saving up for years." Teddy said while walking towards the clothing section.  
  
"Really? Okay, so which one do I want to get? This one looks nice, but I want one with a better colour." Nanami said as she browsed through the different cloaks. Teddy just sighed and shook his head. 


	4. Passage through the Mountains

Chapter IV: Passage through the Mountains  
  
It was about nine o'clock in the morning when Nanami ran in the room where the boys were staying and woke them all up with her yelling, "Wake up, it's time to go. We have a long walk ahead of us and we want to get out of here as soon as possible." The boys unwillingly got out of bed and stretched and yawned. Riou and Jowy packed up their gear while Teddy went down stairs to get some food. Nanami followed him out of the room and down the stairs where she picked out a table as Teddy went up to the barmaid and told her what to send over to the table. Teddy went over to the table just as Jowy and Riou walked down the stairs with their gear. Nanami's stuff was next to her on the ground. Nanami noticed that Teddy didn't have any gear and asked, "Teddy, why don't you have a bag or something with your gear? Haven't you been following us for awhile?"  
  
"I don't need to back my things into bags because I learned some powerful magic years ago that allows me to reduce the size of my stuff so I can fit it all into a metal box that I keep in my pocket." Teddy explained.  
  
Nanami's response was "Oh." After breakfast, the group traveled outside and towards the mountain path's entrance. A guard at the gate to the path stopped them and asked, "Where do you think you're going? No one is allowed past. There are some mountain bandits that would tear you kids apart. They're a group of horrible Grasslanders."  
  
Teddy approached the guard and looked him in the eye steadily and said, "You're going to let us through because we can take care of ourselves and we will arrive in the Grasslands just fine. I'm the son of a high ranking Harmonian priest, so you won't get into any trouble." The guard, who looked like he was not home mentally anymore stepped aside to let them by.  
  
Teddy waved Riou, Nanami, and Jowy through and then said to the guard, "You will forget that you ever saw us." Teddy turned toward the three others who were waiting for him and said, "We have to run, I can only keep him from remembering for awhile; my magic in this area as strong as I would like it, so we have to run. It's normally a half-day hike at a fast walk, so we'll get there quicker if we run. They'll be looking for us."  
  
The four-some began to run and while running Nanami turned and asked Teddy, "You weren't being honest back there, were you? You aren't the son of a high priest, are you?"  
  
Teddy chuckled at the thought and then said, "No, I just needed a good foundation to confuse his brain. My father never even heard of Holy Harmonia; it was after his time."  
  
Nanami smiled and said "Oh" while continuing to run. The group did run into some monsters, but they took of them relatively quickly. An hour after running, they were tired so they began to walk instead of run. When they turned the next corner, they saw three Harmonian soldiers fight a giant spider-looking thing. They immediately went back around the corner and Riou suggested an idea to avoid the soldiers: "Why don't we scale this wall here and edge our way past them so we can avoid detection?"  
  
"Riou are you crazy? How am I supposed to do that?" Nanami asked while looking up the rack face. Teddy looked around the corner and said, "Looks like this is our only option to go undetected; those guys are putting up a pretty good fight. Okay, you and Jowy start climbing. I'll carry Nanami on my back so she can get across."  
  
Nanami looked upset at having to be carried like some child, but saw that there was no other was and decided not to complain too much. "Okay, I'll let you carry me this time, but if I fall, I'm going to kick your ass." Nanami warned Teddy.  
  
"Agreed." Said Teddy. He then kneeled on the ground to allow her to climb on his back. Riou and Jowy had already found a ledge they could edge themselves around without being seen. After Nanami was on his back Teddy stood up and told her to hang on very tightly. She did and he bent his knees and leapt thirty feet into the air and balanced himself on the ledge that Jowy and Riou had found and were now moving around the corner on. Teddy grunted because Nanami had bit him on the back instead of screaming in fear of flying thirty feet in the air.  
  
They edged their way past without incident jumped down a couple corners later after they made sure that the coast was clear. They jogged for another hour until they came upon the other end of the mountain path where they found two Harmonian soldiers walking their way. Both were true Harmonians; they had blonde hair. Teddy grabbed Nanami and hid behind a jutting rock while Jowy and Riou hid behind another protruding rock on the other side of the path. Teddy made motions with his hands to knock out the two soldiers coming their way and Riou and Jowy nodded in understanding.  
  
As the soldiers walk up Riou and Jowy punched the soldier on their side in the face as Teddy elbowed the one on his side in the face as well. Teddy then said "Okay, Jowy and I will put on their uniforms because there still should be some guards at the post and we are the only ones with blonde hair." The group then quickly stripped the two guards and took their clothes. While Nanami and Riou dragged the soldiers behind the jutting rocks Teddy and Jowy stripped and put on the Harmonians' uniforms. They handed their clothes to Nanami to put in some bags while they adjusted the helmets over their faces. Riou picked up Jowy's and his bags and asked, "So Nanami and I are going to act like you guys captured us, right?"  
  
Teddy nodded his head and picked up the axe that belonged to one of the soldiers. Jowy picked up the other axe while Riou and Nanami got in front of them and started to walk. When they got to the post Teddy waved at the guard and said, "We found these two wandering about so we're taking them down to the garrison." The guard waved them on and the group walked down the path and straight out of the small towns' front gates and ran into some trees that were a little bit away. There Jowy and Teddy took off their borrowed outfits and put on their old clothes. They dumped the Harmonian uniforms and walked through the small ticket of trees into the open plains of the Grasslands. 


	5. The Plains of Grassland

Chapter V: The Plains of Grassland  
  
The group was standing there on the edge of the vast plains of the Grasslands. All four of them were taking in the beauty of the wide expanse and open area. They had come out of the mountains in a tiny valley and directly in front of them lay a large forest. They were facing west with their backs to the mountains they had just come out of. Teddy took a deep breath and sighed. He then asked, "So, where do you want to go? I haven't been here since the end of the war fifteen years ago, but I still know my way around. The tribes that are nomadic shouldn't have moved too much by now."  
  
Jowy answered: "I have never been here, but I heard quite a lot from Lucia. She was always worried about her responsibilities to her tribe and fighting her hardest for them. I think we should go find her tribe."  
  
"Do you think that's wise? I thought you didn't want to get discovered; everyone is supposed to think that you're dead, remember?" Teddy inquired.  
  
Jowy turned towards Teddy smiling while reminiscing and then said, "She knew I was going to escape the castle alive. In fact, she held off Riou so I could get every thing prepared for my departure. So it will be fine if we see her; she'll keep it discreet."  
  
"Okay then, back to Karaya Village again. And so soon? Hopefully she won't be too mad at me." Teddy said mostly to himself. Before Teddy could on with where they were right now Nanami interrupted him with a question, "Hey Teddy, why were you here fifteen years ago? I thought you were supposed to be helping out Shu with the war. And who is this "she" that you talking about?"  
  
Teddy blushed and turned his face away while saying, "Um, I was here to, um, do recognizance on the enemy and to see them and what they were made of. Anyways don't worry too much about me, I'm not important. Look here, west of us is Kuput Forest and directly north is Chisha Village just a few miles up." Teddy turned around still blushing when his face got all stiff and he looked south-west with concern. He then asked, "Did any of you feel that? That was very high level magic! It came from the direction of Karaya Village."  
  
"Teddy, what are you talking about? Riou, Jowy, do you know what he's talking about?" Nanami asked as she looked to Riou and Jowy, but they looked like something was bothering them as well.  
  
Riou said, "I have a bad feeling; my stomach feels like something is tugging on it. Like some invisible force." And Jowy said, "Yeah, something is definitely going on."  
  
"Now that you mention it, I do feel sort of funny. Teddy, what's going on?" Nanami asked with concern in her voice.  
  
"There are soldiers out on Amur Plain. Zexen soldiers and warriors from the six tribes including Karayan, but the magic isn't coming from there." Teddy responded.  
  
Nanami looked at Teddy oddly and then asked, "How can you tell? They are so far away!"  
  
"All though I'm only half elf, I still the enhanced sight of elves." Teddy said as he sniffed the hair. "I smell some type of horse that's indigenous to the plains. We can ride some of them down there to see what's going on." Teddy said while pulling out a flask and taking a drink and then returning it.  
  
"Is that another elf enhancement?" Nanami asked. Teddy shook his head and then said, "No, enhanced smell compared to a humans' came from my mothers side; her grandfather was of a species that was killed off by my father. They were a barbarous people who sacked my homelands' villages and towns, so my father ordered our nation to exterminate them for the greater good. My father kept it secret that my mother was a descendant from them until shortly before her death. But can we discuss this later? We have to get down there."  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry." Nanami apologized. Teddy just smiled at her as he ran forward and made an odd noise. Then a herd of green unicorn-looking beasts came around and stopped. He went towards them and then said to the other three of the group, "Come on. You can get on them now, but we must hurry. Oh, and don't worry about wearing them out; they're much more dexterous than normal horses. Put your bags on this horse: we will probably have to fight, so he'll follow us and catch up later."  
  
Nanami, Riou and Jowy complied, and put their things on the unicorn. They then each picked out a unicorn they liked and mounted. Teddy climbed on one and then whispered something in the ear of the unicorn carrying the groups' belongings. He then make a clicking noise with his mouth and the unicorn started running. It was about mid-day when the group started riding as fast as they could and they avoided as many fights as they could. But when they did run into trouble Teddy would summon some high level of fire magic and kill all the monsters at once. When the group was close together Teddy would tell everyone what was happening: "A battle between the Zexen Knights and the Grassland Six Clans has broken out. I don't known much more than that. All I can hear is fighting and horses hoofs running."  
  
Jowy wasn't sure what they were going to do once they got there and so he asked, "Teddy, why are we going here? We don't want to be dragged into a conflict or be seen by people who will recognize us."  
  
"I know, but we have to find out the source of that magic: it felt so familiar. You might want to dump your cloaks because it's much warmer here and they will get in the way of fighting." Teddy paused and shook his head and then muttered, "Great, he's here too." Just then a black horse came from behind carrying a boy with light brown hair and blue-grey eyes. He was carrying a katana at his left hip and a gun on the other which only Howling Voice Guild members could obtain. He had pointed elfin ears and a face structure just like Teddy's.  
  
The boy then looked at Teddy and said, "Hello Teddy! Long time, no see. I've gotten a lot stronger than the last time that I saw you. If you're here, does that mean that the Stars of Destiny are gathering again? My father told me of the original gathering."  
  
"I bet he did. So, how is your father?" Teddy asked as if he didn't care too much. The youth looked excited that Teddy had taken an interest in his father and said, "I actually don't know; I haven't seen him for decades. But I have heard that another clone was created from him to hold a true rune, but it was stolen by some witch with the true rune, right from the Crystal Temple. But that was about thirty years ago."  
  
Teddy frowned and said, "I know. I met him. And she wasn't a witch; she just didn't like the way Hikusaak was using these human beings for his own gain."  
  
"Come on. You're not still mad at my father for killing yours, are you? You did stop fighting him and just left. So you cannot be too mad Uncle." The boy reasoned.  
  
"Look Stephen, if you want, you can stay and fight with us. Then we can talk all about this later." Said Teddy. He then turned toward Riou, Nanami, and Jowy who had all heard the conversation between Stephen and Teddy and said, "That's Karaya Village right there. After this is all done, we'll find somewhere safe to talk, okay?"  
  
Jowy looked at Teddy and said, "Sure; I have many questions now. Are those the Zexen Knights that you mentioned?" Teddy looked to where Jowy was pointing and, sure enough, there were Zexen knights entering Karaya Village from the path and they started to set buildings in the village on fire. Teddy then withdrew his sword and spurred the unicorn to go faster. It was almost dark and the sky was beginning to look red. Teddy then said, without turning to face everyone, "Some one just used some more of that powerful magic. I also feel some true runes around here. I don't know how many though." The others withdrew there weapons and prepared to fight their way into the village, if necessary, to protect the helpless. 


	6. Karaya Village

Chapter VI: Karaya Village  
  
The group of five was galloping on their steeds at an incredibly fast pace. They were heading towards Karaya Village from the north-east. With their weapons drawn and the look of fierce determination in all but the newest additions' eyes, they were a force to be reckoned with. The village was burning now and a fierce fight could be heard. It was dark now and the fire made the sky glow a vibrant red. Teddy stood up on his ride's back and leapt up into the air and zoomed off in the sky under his own power and landed on a giant rock protruding from the ground. Stephen followed his moves, but instead of flying he was running a great deal faster than his horse could have possibly been carrying him. He turned and waved at the three left behind while Jowy said, "Where are theses people from? Normal beings cannot do what they just did!"  
  
Nanami's response to this was, "Well they are relatives, but I thought that Teddy was almost a thousand years old. They being relatives would explain why they have similar capabilities."  
  
Riou just shrugged and said, "Lets not worry about it right now, we have to catch up just in case they need help. But let's try not to kill anyone. This isn't our fight and we don't know what's going on here. We must make sure that the women and children get out of here safely. Nanami, I want you to stay on your unicorn while Jowy and I help the villagers get down so they can get to safety. I just hope we speak the same language as they do. I don't want any misunderstandings." Stephen was just getting to the rock where Teddy had been for awhile and had looked to be talking to some one.  
  
As Stephen got to the rock Teddy was talking to a short man in a mask and a green coat. The masked man had the same hair color as Stephen, but it was slightly lighter; like a dirty blonde. As Jowy, Riou, and Nanami got closer they could make out what the three other people were saying.  
  
"You! I know you! You're one of my father's..." Stephen was saying when the masked man cut in: "Don't speak! This conversation is way above your head! I'm here on a very important mission for Holy Harmonia."  
  
Stephen looked as if he was about to say something when Teddy waved his hand for him to be quiet and shook his head. Teddy then looked at then masked man who was standing in the burning village and said, "It doesn't have t be this way. There are other options available: fate is changeable. Trust me, I know."  
  
The masked man was then called back by a man wearing all black with a black hat over his eyes. The man in black looked up at Teddy and said, "You have no idea how sorry I am that I cannot fight you here and now, but I have a desire to live so I can see more blood. You should understand; we are of the same species, My Emperor."  
  
Teddy then angrily blurted out, "We are nothing alike, Yuber! You are a treacherous being from a treacherous species which my father wiped out! Pesmerga will finish his duty of destroying you! Or maybe I will!" But by then it was too late; he had vanished through a portal opened on the ground and the masked man was preparing to do the same when he said, "Teddy, you treated me kindly during the time we served together with the Stars of Destiny. So if you wish to save as many lives as you can, I suggest that you evacuate as many as possible from this area before it has to be sacrificed to ensure that the future is not predetermined. Good-bye."  
  
Teddy just growled in frustration and the said to Stephen, "Go hold off the knights coming this way. I don't want you to kill them; show restraint. Meet us at the Great Hollow. That's where we are going to take the refugees. And thank you."  
  
Stephen nodded his head and said, "No problem. I can help you out anytime. Father and I really don't hate you. We just have a vision for a united nation everywhere so there are no more conflicts." Then he went to do as he was asked, hopping away.  
  
Riou and Jowy had been standing on the rock looking down at the Karayans and trying to reassure them that they were there to help. There were already some dead villagers on the ground and some warriors who refused to leave. But some warriors agreed to come so they could help protect the villagers escape. The warriors had slid down the large rock and were helping with the others to get the villagers down. All the villagers had been helped down when a knight with blonde hair got past Stephen who looked to be enjoying himself in just toying with the knights. The blonde knight had charged Stephen while has was blocking another sword and stabbed in the left should with his sword. Stephen fell backwards with his eyes wide in shock. The blonde knight was followed by another half-dozen helmeted knights; all of them on horseback.  
  
Teddy saw this happening and shouted, "NO! Don't go there! It's a magic trap – if you go in it, your emotions will turn to pure hatred!" But again he was too late; the knight had stepped in the area and was, by now, fully enraged. The few warriors that were standing there got into defensive positions, but that wasn't good enough. The blonde knight charged forth with the other knights in tow and started to slaughter the Karayans there.  
  
Six Karayans had fallen in an instant and Teddy, Riou, And Jowy were jumping down to help the rest. Riou turned towards Nanami and yelled, "Nanami, go! We'll take care of this; you go ahead. Ask one of the villagers where the Great Hollow is. Now Go!"  
  
Nanami looked terribly upset at having to leave her little brother behind to fight, but decided that she had to help save the villagers – which included children – so she left. Stephen had gotten up by now and looked very angry that some one had the audacity to stab him when he was trying to fight them. He had stopped bleeding and had run over to join in the fight. He jumped up to attack the blonde knight and said, "My name is Stephen and I'm a knight looking to improve myself in the art of combat! What is your name, warrior?"  
  
The blonde put his sword up to defend against the falling katana and gave his reply: "I am Borus of the Six Knights of Zexen! I accept your challenge!" Riou and Jowy had knocked out the knights that had come with Borus and Teddy was fighting the knights that were coming to join the fight when Teddy turned and said, "Riou, Jowy, you should get out of here. This is a piece of cake for me. I'll take care of the rest: you guys go catch up with Nanami. You too Stephen. You're having difficulty with one knight, so go."  
  
Stephen yelled from his fighting: "I'm good. You guys go. I'll cover you and then follow." Borus then said, "I'm not letting you guys get away that easily. You will pay for interfering." He then charged at Stephen on horseback, but Stephen slipped away to the right and rolled. When he finished rolling, he came up with his sword swinging at the back of Borus, but Borus was quick enough to counter and snapped his left arm out to punch Stephen in the gut which sent him flying into another horseman. Jowy and Riou took off running while they had a chance. Their unicorns were gone so the children could ride away instead of going by foot. Teddy ran into a group of mounted knights who were in an inverted triangle formation and jumped up kicking two knights in the head by doing a split in mid-air and then knocked the third knight in the side of the head with the side of his sword.  
  
Stephen was just getting up when Teddy turned toward him and ran at him, picking him up around the waist and leaping over the giant boulder. Teddy took off running at high speeds with Stephen kicking and hitting in protest so he could go back and join the fight. Teddy caught up with Jowy and Riou and set Stephen down who looked really pissed about being taken away from a fight. Borus had left from the area they were just fighting in and went towards the entrance of the village. The four young-looking boys then went jogging after the group of Karayan refugees and in search of the Great Hollow. 


	7. Old Memories at the Great Hollow

Chapter VII: Old Memories at the Great Hollow 

The four young men were jogging at a relatively fast pace, but not rushing themselves for they were tired from all of the fighting they participated in. It was morning and then Teddy stepped out as Stephen prepared to fight and Riou and Jowy took a step back while getting reading to guard. already and the sun had been up for a few hours. They managed to arrive at a large boulder-looking thing that had a single entrance in the form of a path winding between the high rock faces on both sides. They slowed their pace down to a walk and went through the winding path to see a group of Lizards talking amongst themselves. When the group of boys entered the open space the Lizards turned towards them with their spear-like weapons raised.

As the Lizards approached the group Teddy spoke to them, "I am Teddy. I am a warrior who comes from the old nation of Aronia. We come on peaceful terms. We just arrived from Karaya Village where we were making sure that the villagers escaped. You can confirm this with the refugees that just arrived from there."

The Lizards studied the group and then one Lizard came forth and said, "I am glad that at least one human has proper manners. My name is Bazba and I'm a warrior of the Lizard Clan. We heard from one human who came with the Karayans that more were to follow. We will let you stay here for now."

The Lizards parted to let the group pass and Stephen turned towards Teddy and said, "Well, I'll go here and let you guys do as you wish. I'm going to find this Flame Champion. He's supposed to have the True Fire Rune that he stole from us. So I'm going to see you later Teddy." With that he turned around and left while making a high whistling noise. He left out via the only way. A horse galloping could be heard. Then it stopped and started up again.

Riou turned towards Teddy and asked, "Who is this Flame Champion?" Teddy answered: "He was a hero of the Grasslands from fifty years ago who united all the clans together and drove out the invading Harmonians who occupied at least half of the Grasslands. He had stolen the True Fire Rune from the One Temple in Harmonia. He disappeared after a great battle where his rune went out of control and destroyed half of the Grasslanders army along with the Harmonians. A peace treaty was negotiated afterwards, but no one saw or heard from him again. With the true rune he could still be alive today, but I doubt it."

Jowy then asked, "How do you know? Maybe he wished to stay alive."

Teddy shook his head while saying, "No. I knew him and that's not who he was. I fought beside him because of my strong dislike of Harmonia's policy of making their subjugated people third-class citizens."

"Well we might as well go in now and talk to Nanami and see how she's doing." Riou suggested. So the now reduced group went inside the Great Hollow and when they got in there they saw that there were many Karayans already there. Teddy immediately put the hood on his cape up and turned towards his right and walked as fast as he could without looking too conspicuous.

Then a Karayan man carrying a young girl walked up to him and said, "Thank you so much for saving my child from the attack. I have no idea what I would do if I lost her as long as with her mother. She told me it was you and your friends."

Teddy smiled under his hood and said, "Oh, it was nothing. We're just glad to help." After Teddy spoke a Karayan lady looked at him and then marched her way over with a very upset look on her face. Teddy saw her coming out of the corner of his eye and turned to flee, but ran into Nanami who had snuck up on him. The man with the baby quietly left for he could see that the group was getting back together.

Nanami waved and was about to say something when the blonde Karayan woman with her hair cut almost shoulder length said, "Teddy, I know that's you. You are very lucky that this child has been through enough already or I would kill you right here. You left me all alone and I had your..."

"Wow there, I had to leave. Now could we talk about this somewhere more private?" Teddy interrupted as he put his hood down. The blonde woman gasped as she saw Teddy's youthful face. Jowy looked at the woman more closely. She had been ignoring Jowy, Riou, and Nanami. She had been focusing all of her attention on Teddy.

Jowy had a look of recognition on his face as he asked, "Miss Lucia, is that really you? It's been so long that I didn't recognize you. You look completely different than you did fifteen years ago."

She gasped again as she saw Jowy and then Riou and Nanami. She then said, "You guys haven't aged a bit. And Miss Nanami, I thought you were dead." Then she turned her attention towards Teddy and said in a menacing voice, "Yes, we can talk somewhere privately. And you better have a great explanation for your disappearance. Sorry King Jowy, Lord Riou and Miss Nanami, I'll have to talk to you later. I have to take care of this first."

Lucia turned towards a ramp that was located to the right of the entrance and led the group of four up the ramp and to room that was located in the middle of the room on the second floor. The guards let her go through and she then motioned for Teddy to follow. Teddy sighed and then followed her into the room leaving Jowy, Nanami, and Riou just wondering what was going on between Teddy and Lucia.

Jowy turned toward the others and said, "I would like to help Miss Lucia with whatever she needs help with here, but I don't think we should be exposing ourselves too much. She did help me back during that war."

"But she tried to kill Riou. I don't know if I can trust her." Nanami countered. Riou shrugged his shoulders and said, "I trust her. I think it's a good idea to try to help her and I agree with Jowy that we should be careful as well."

Nanami rolled her eyes and said, "You always agree with Jowy; you guys should just get a room already." Both Riou and Jowy blushed deeply and looked at the ground. "Like I didn't know. We have been traveling for fifteen years and I know you both like the back of my hand."

Riou, trying to change the subject, said, "Um. Why don't we go find something to eat and then see if they're done talking by then?" Jowy still blushing and looking at the ground just nodded his head.

Nanami smiled brightly and then said, "Great! I'll make some food for Teddy too because he's probably going to be hungry when Lucia's done with him." She then went down the ramp to find some materials to make food. Riou and Jowy looked at each other hoping that Teddy was immortal enough to live through her cooking.

Two hours later Jowy, Riou, and Nanami were waiting outside of the room when Lucia came out looking much happier than before. She waved at the group and then tried to move towards the ramp when Teddy came out of the room not looking too happy and muttering to himself. His hair was out of its braid and was a little messy. He looked kind of like a girl with his hair let down over his shoulders and going to about his mid-back.

He saw Lucia moving off and called to her: "Hey Lucia! You have my hair band. How am I supposed to tie my hair up without it?"

Lucia chuckled and turned towards him saying, "Last time we "talked" I had nothing to prove that you existed except Hugo, but this time I have this which I can keep with me at all times. Just consider it my trophy."

Riou's and Nanami's jaws dropped while Jowy just stood there looking confused. Teddy blushed as he responded, "It's not as if I'm hard to get."

"Hahaha. On the contrary, you were hard that whole time." Lucia said with a big smile. Teddy eyes widened and he yelped in surprise while Riou fainted, Nanami looking as she was going to run off and cry and Jowy still standing around looking confused.

Teddy trying to change the subject quickly said, "I'm still sorry that I wasn't there for you two. I should have been, but I had my reasons not to get too close. I'm sorry."

Lucia said to him, "It's okay; I understand. I'll just tell him the same thing I have for years – that his father is a great warrior." Nanami couldn't stand it anymore and ran off. Jowy had knelt down and woken Riou up, but looked up to see Nanami running off. He still had a look of confusion on his face.

Lucia saw Nanami run off and said, "Teddy, you still drive women insane. You should go talk to her. I'm going to go wait for my son's return." She then turned and left down a different ramp that was opposite of the one the group had come up before. Teddy sighed and shook his head as he damned himself for being so weak. He then straightened his back and put his hands out in front of himself, making a triangular shape with them. A breeze picked up in the large cave and his hair started to braid itself. Once it was done Teddy reached into his cape and pulled out a hair fastener. He then put it at the bottom of his hair.

Jowy looked up at Teddy as he got up and asked, "What was that about?"

Teddy sighed, looked at the now conscious Riou and walked away saying, "I have to go talk to Nanami. I'll be back."

Jowy was about to say something to Teddy when Riou leaned over and whispered in Jowy's ear. Jowy's face became wide in amazement and understanding and he turned to see Teddy walking down the ramp after Nanami. Jowy turned towards Riou and asked, "Does that mean that Nanami likes Teddy?" Riou's reply was a shrug of his shoulders.


	8. A Fight with the Zexens again

Chapter VIII: A Fight with the Zexens Again  
  
The cave was large and had many holes to go in. in the centre was a formation of jagged rocks. There were two ramps – one to the right and one to the left. Inside of each ramp was a hole leading to a store. On the immediate left of the entrance was an inn where people could stay and on the right of the entrance was a path leading down winding paths that eventually went to the outside world. In the back of the first floor there was a pool-like pit of water that had its own water fall. On the second floor there was a room reserved for the chief of the Lizard Clan in the middle, but he had been recently assassinated so it was vacant. On the left of the chief's old room was a training centre for soldiers and to the right was a trading post for commerce. It was near the path that wound to the outside that Teddy found Nanami staring at a wall.  
  
He approached her and asked, "What's wrong?" She spun around and glared at him. She was obviously very upset about something. She looked at him like he should know because he was the cause. She then said, "What's wrong? You should know what's wrong. Why didn't you tell me that you and Lucia were a thing?"  
  
"I didn't tell you because I figured that it didn't matter one way or the other. We aren't a "thing", we just had something years ago. I don't know what it was, but I left because I heard that you had been hurt in Matilda. I left straight from L'renouille where I was spying in on Jowy's and Leon's plans. We had traveled together from Karaya Village to bring warriors to help Highland, but after you got hurt I left immediately. When I got back I heard that you were dead. Then Shu asked me to make sure that Riou stayed safe while he was traveling, so I did. And that's when I found out that you were still alive. So after you guys got into a huge fight with mountain bandits on the border of what was Highland and Harmonia I decided to give you the True Rune of Immortality to make sure you wouldn't be in danger again..."  
  
Teddy was about to continue with his explanation when Nanami interrupted him: "I care about you Teddy, but I don't know why. I care what you do and who you're with and I want to know why. I've only known you for a short time so I shouldn't care, but I do and I don't like it."  
  
Teddy then said, "I'm sorry. If you want, after I'm done showing you guys around Grassland, I can just go. You don't need me to watch out for you anymore. With that rune you'll be fine and you can protect Riou."  
  
"Teddy, I don't want you to go. I just want to know everything about you." Nanami pleaded.  
  
Teddy chuckled and asked, "You're not asking for much are you?" just then there was a loud commotion and Karayan and Lizard warriors were rushing towards the entrance. Riou and Jowy came running down the ramp with their weapons in their hands. Teddy smiled at Nanami and gestured with his head towards the door. She smiled too and wiped her face with her hand.  
  
She then said, "Let's go see what's going on. I feel like kicking some ass anyways." Riou, Jowy, and Teddy smiled and the four of them took off running with the rest of the warriors towards the entrance prepared for a fight. When they got outside they saw that the Zexens had come with an army to crush them. The group found Lucia and Jowy asked her, "Miss Lucia, may we fight with you? I owe you from before."  
  
"Yes you may, but call me Lucia, King Jowy." Lucia said.  
  
Jowy looked at her and said, "I will only if you call me Jowy; I'm not king of anything anymore." She nodded her head and the group joined in her unit and prepared to fight with the Zexens. Jowy said to Lucia, "We're outnumbered. We'll have to try to fight here and then retreat back into the Great Hollow and hold them there. We should have the people who can't fight flee through the alternative paths."  
  
Lucia nodded in agreement and then called for a messenger as the armies began to clash. She then said to the messenger, "Go get the woman, elderly, and children and take them back into the cave and get ready to run through one of the other exits." The messenger nodded and ran off to do as he was told.  
  
Lucia's unit soon came up against a unit of Zexen knights. There were twenty of them and only ten Karayans. They were all on horseback whereas the Karayans were on foot. Lucia turned towards the group and explained, "They are very strong so be careful. The one with the axe is called Leo. He's one of the Six Knights of Zexen." Teddy smiled and unsheathed his sword and then ran forward with the Karayans, Lucia, Jowy, Riou, and Nanami in tow. The horses were about to charge forth as well when Teddy made a high pitched noise that drove them to lie on the ground. The knights were confused, but got up and prepared to fight on foot nonetheless. The battle was about even: the Zexens had heavy armour that protected them, but made them sluggish while the Karayans were fast. The armour was too big of an advantage though. The Karayans were starting to fall. Lucia had taken down two Zexens and Riou, Nanami, and Jowy had done about just as well. Leo was cutting through Karayans quickly with his heavy axe when Teddy got in his way and stopped his swing with his sword. Leo smiled at the prospect of a good fight and swung his axe a second time. As Teddy and Leo were fighting it out Jowy raised his right hand and summoned dozens of swords that pierced through a whole group of Zexen knights, giving Riou enough space to swing his weapon around a smack another two knights down. Nanami and Lucia ganged up on three other knights and beat them to a pulp. That left about five Zexens including Leo.  
  
Teddy was having fun with Leo; using his speed to literally run circles around Leo and kicking him, trying to knock him down. But Leo's dexterity kept him from being knocked down so easily. Lucia then yelled for a retreat, so Teddy pulled off his attack and was watching everyone's backs as they left. Leo and the left over knights came after them, but Teddy waved his hand and a wave of jagged rocks appeared out of the ground knocking all of the knights down to the ground as the Grasslanders ran away.  
  
As the Zexens were regrouping, the Grasslanders were getting ready for the next wave of soldiers in the open area before the entrance to the Great Hollow. The Zexens came in and began to attack again. Teddy had gotten separated from the others who were farther back in the opening so he ran through the mingling crowd of Zexens and Grasslanders. He bashed Zexens in the head with the side of his sword while trying to make his way through the crowd. Then the all of the Six Knights of Zexen came in and started to cut a path through the Grasslanders. Teddy was on his way to intersect them when Lucia stepped out and started to talk to the female leader of the Knights, Chris Lightfellow.  
  
All of a sudden the Zexens pulled out and left. Teddy met up with Riou, Jowy, and Nanami and said, "We should go inside and get out of sight. I feel a Pendragon here." They looked at him oddly as if they wanted an explanation so Teddy continued: "The Pendragons are kind of cousins to mine. Something to do with arranged marriages a long time ago. They are from Dunan so they might recognize one of you."  
  
Jowy said "Oh" as he and the others followed Teddy into the Great Hollow. Then they walked up the ramp on the left and headed towards the trading post and stood around the outside and talked about what their next plans were going to be. Jowy then said that Riou, Nanami, and he had agreed upon helping out Lucia in any way that they could without being too conspicuous. Teddy said that he would stay and help as well. Then the group spotted a Karayan boy, a Duck, a Griffin, two men, and a young girl all arguing about something on the first floor of the Great Hollow. 


	9. The Flame Champion Search Begins

Chapter IX: The Flame Champion Search Begins  
  
The group walked over towards the edge of the second floor to get a better look at the odd group that was arguing below. Teddy then said, "That girl is the Pendragon that I sensed before. The two men with her appear to be her escort or something. They must have traveled here from Tinto."  
  
Riou looked at Teddy and asked, "Tinto? Isn't that were Gustav Pendragon is from?" Teddy nodded as he continued to look down on the quarreling group.  
  
Nanami then said, "If she is from Tinto and is a Pendragon, then she should be related to Gustav and I only know of one person related to him; his daughter, Lilly. Remember her, Riou?" Riou nodded his head and turned back towards the group. Nanami simply said, "Wow! She grew up a lot."  
  
"They just called her Lilly and the Duck's name is Sergeant Joe..." Teddy was saying as he suddenly got quiet. He then continued in a softer voice that the others had a little difficulty hearing, "And the Karayan boy's name is Hugo; that makes him the son of Chief Lucia."  
  
Nanami looked at Teddy and said, "Oh." She then went on to say, "Let's go say hi to him and see how he's doing. Come on Teddy, let's introduce you to him."  
  
"How about not? Anyways, Lilly is leaving with her escort to find money. They all are on a search for the Flame Champion. If this many people are looking for him, maybe we should as well. It would give us something to do, unless Lucia has a better idea." Teddy responded.  
  
Jowy nodded his head and said, "Let's go talk to her to see what she wants us to do to help out."  
  
So the group moved towards where Lucia was standing on the other side of the large cave on the first floor. They walked around on the second floor to the other ramp just so Hugo and his friends wouldn't see them, but by the time they got to the other ramp they saw Hugo and Lucia talking. Hugo then walked away to go do something while waiting for the return of Lilly and her compatriots.  
  
The four-some then walked down to Lucia where Jowy asked, "Lucia, we were wondering what we could do to help. We know that your son is already going to look for the Flame Champion, but we might be able to help look for him too."  
  
Lucia smiled at Jowy and said, "That might be nice since he's going to be waiting around awhile for his friends to return."  
  
"Okay. Then we should get going now. We will be back in a week to tell you what we have found or not found." Teddy stated just as Hugo came running back over there.  
  
He ran up to his mother and asked, "Do I have to stay inside while I wait? I want to ride on the plains."  
  
Lucia smiled and glanced at Teddy for a moment and then returned her attention towards Hugo and said, "You're a man; you decide. But I do caution against going too far because there may be another battle and I don't want you to be separated away from us when it comes."  
  
Hugo was about to run off again when he looked at the group that was talking to his mother and then turned towards his mother and asked while gesturing generally towards Teddy, "Who are these people? They don't dress like they are from here, but he has dark skin like ours."  
  
Before anyone else had the chance to respond, Teddy said, "We're just travelers. I come from a different land, but I used to live here and that's why my skin is a little darker. That's all." Hugo nodded and then ran off to meet with is companions that hadn't left.  
  
Lucia looked at Teddy and smiled while saying, "He has your eyes."  
  
"I noticed." Was all Teddy said. He then walked off towards the exit as Riou, Jowy, and Nanami said their good-byes to Lucia.  
  
Teddy was waiting outside of the Great Hollow as Riou, Jowy, and Nanami caught up to him. He started walking away when Jowy ran up to him and asked, "Where are we going now to look for this Flame Champion?"  
  
"Budehuc Castle because I think this is going to be the place where the Stars of Destiny are going to meet. And I think that the True Fire Rune will be tied in with the Stars of Destiny. I don't think that the Flame Champion is there, but we can get some clues as to where he is." Teddy answered.  
  
Nanami then asked Teddy, "When did you live here?"  
  
Teddy turned towards her as he was walking and answered, "About fifty years ago; I lived here for a couple of years. It's when I met the Flame Champion. I didn't know him well, but I knew him enough to know what he wanted from life." Nanami just said "oh" and they continued to walk west.  
  
After a two hour walk that was interrupted by several monsters that looked ravenous, the group arrived at a village that had large fields and many windmills. It only had one street that went straight down the middle and all the way back towards the fields. All of the shops and houses cam directly off the main street. The group was tired and decided to take a rest here before traveling the last mile to their current destination. They stopped by the blacksmith who couldn't sharpen their weapons because they were sharp already. As Riou, Jowy, and Nanami went to inspect what a lottery was, Teddy walked to the back of the village to a large windmill where he found a man with blonde hair staring at the fields.  
  
As Teddy approached, the man said, "I haven't seen you in awhile. I think the last time was the Higheast Rebellion three years ago. And then you were trying to countermine my objectives. I hope you aren't here to do so again."  
  
"Good to see you too, Nash. My guess is that you're here to spy for Sasarai. Is he looking for more true runes as well?" Teddy asked.  
  
Nash frowned and turned toward Teddy. He then said, "No, he thinks that there is another bishop trying to get the true rune for his own gain. I'm just trying to get information about the Flame Champion and why this new bishop is trying to get the rune for himself. The Holy Kingdom of Harmonia isn't going to move against the Grasslands quite yet, but soon, I'm afraid. I'm going to stay in town for a couple of days. I heard that you were escorting some people around the Grasslands. They aren't planning on getting involved with this, are they?"  
  
"Hopefully not too much. But I think I ran into that bishop you're talking about. I'm quite sure what he wants with the rune, but I think that he's after more than one." Teddy said. Nash frowned even more when he heard this, but didn't say anything.  
  
Riou, Jowy, and Nanami came walking up the main path and meandered towards Teddy and Nash. Nanami saw Nash and ran up to him saying, "Hey! I know you. We met in Muse once where I fixed you some soup."  
  
Nash shivered at the memory as Teddy slapped his hand on his head and said, "Nanami, you're trying to keep a low profile; not going up to everyone you recognize and saying hi. One of your companions is supposed to be dead and the other doesn't want to be dragged back to responsibility yet."  
  
Nanami looked up into the sky and said, "Oh." As Riou and Jowy just shook their heads and sighed. Nash still looked horrified at the thought of Nanami's cooking.  
  
Teddy then said to Nash, "Well, we should get going before it gets to be too late. I'll see you another time, perhaps." Riou, Jowy, and Nanami started to walk down the main street, but Teddy lingered a moment and then Nash waved bye. Teddy then jogged to catch up with the other three as they left the village and headed towards Budehuc Castle.  
  
They arrived at the castle with little difficulty where they were stopped by a girl wearing armor and a plaid skirt. She then said, "Halt! Why do you come here? Are you evil-doers?" Riou, Jowy, Nanami, and Teddy looked at each other with confused looks.  
  
Nanami walked up to the girl and said, "We're not bad people; we just want somewhere to stay. We heard of this castle and thought that we would come and look at it."  
  
The girl lowered her weapon and then said, "Oh, okay. I'll go get the master of the castle. You guys must be merchants come to set up a shop and sell goods here."  
  
The girl was about to run off and get the master when Teddy said, "That won't be necessary; we aren't merchants. We just came to visit and spend a night or two. But if we do run into any merchants or anything after we leave we'll tell them of this place, okay?"  
  
"Okay. Well, then have a nice stay. The inn is over there." The girl said while pointing to a building near a set of stairs. The group walked over to the inn because it was getting dark and went inside to spend the night. They met the inn-keep and Teddy paid for the room as the others went straight to bed. They all had a hard day with the fighting and traveling. 


	10. Budehuc Castle and a Fight Upon the Plai...

Chapter X: Budehuc Castle and a Fight Upon the Plains  
  
The party awoke two hours after the sun had arisen. Nanami ran into the room where the boys had slept to awaken them only to find that Jowy and Riou were already awake and that the last member of the party was nowhere to be found. The trio went down the stairs and out the front door of the inn and decided to look around a bit.  
  
They were standing in a courtyard with a fountain in the centre, some uncompleted buildings off to the right, stairs directly to the right leading up to a mansion, and another set of stairs leading downwards to an unseen area. The trio noticed a rune shop next to the uncompleted buildings and decided to look inside of it. When they walked into the rune shop they found the missing member of their party speaking with a woman with a very pale complexion in a black dress.  
  
Riou and Nanami recognized the woman instantly. The woman called out to the two of them: "Hehehe... Hello! How have you been, Riou and Nanami?"  
  
Jowy had a concerned look on his because he knew that this odd woman had recognized them while the group was trying to keep a low profile. He didn't know who, exactly, this woman was, but he didn't know if he could trust her to not tell people that they were who they were.  
  
Teddy noticed the look on Jowy's face and said, "Jowy, don't worry. Jeane knows how to be discreet about things and she won't tell anyone that we are here or who we are. Isn't that right Jeane?"  
  
"Hehehe... Yes, I know how to be... discreet." Jeane said with a sensual voice as Teddy gave her an odd look.  
  
"Yes, well I think you remember Riou and Nanami from a few years back, right?" Teddy asked and then Jeane nodded. Teddy then continued, "Well, this is their friend Jowy. I'm sure you've seen him on the battlefield before. Well, these three are on a world tour and I'm leading them through the Grasslands. It's most inopportune for there seems to be a war about to start. So, have you seen any of the Fire Bringer here?"  
  
Before Jeane could answer, Nanami jumped in with a question: "Wait, I thought we were looking for some Flame Champion, so what is this Fire Bringer?"  
  
"The Fire Bringer were the people who followed the Flame Champion. They started out as bandits raiding Harmonian caravans before they fought against them in battle." Explained Teddy. Nanami just said, "Oh."  
  
Then Jeane finally responded to the question with, "Hehehe... There aren't any of them here. Sorry I can't be of more help."  
  
"No problem. They may as of yet gather here. I didn't think that they would be here yet anyways. So, guys, what do you want to do now? We could keep looking around here for some clues, or just relax, or we could go back and report to Lucia what we've learned so far. I don't think we should go back yet; we might be able to find more information if we dig a little bit. But you guys should just relax; this isn't your war to fret about." Teddy said.  
  
"How about we stay here just a little while longer to see if we can find anything and we can relax as well. Then we can go report back to Miss Lucia. As long as we don't have to fight too much more, I'll be happy. I don't want to get dragged into a long war. I want to help, but I'm tired of fighting." Riou said.  
  
"Sounds good to me Riou. Let's go check out this castle now. I want to see everything that I can. Then we can head out. What do you think, Jowy?" Nanami asked.  
  
"It sounds good to me too. Let's go explore this castle: it seems a little run down though." Jowy said.  
  
The group then exited the rune shop while waving bye to Jeane. They headed towards the stairs heading up to the mansion when Nanami turned towards Teddy and asked, "So, how do you know Jeane? You seemed to have known her for a while."  
  
Riou and Jowy looked at Teddy because they were curious as well. Looking straight forward he answered, "I've know her for a few hundred years. We met a long time ago south of here. Very south of here. We became friends because she's so amiable." Riou's, Jowy's and Nanami's jaws all dropped in astonishment.  
  
"She's how old?" Nanami asked incredulously. Riou had composed himself a little bit by now, but now his curiosity had increased upon the matter. Jowy still had his jaw dropped until Riou turned towards him and closed it for him.  
  
Teddy just rolled his eyes and said, "It's not polite to discuss a lady's age. I've already said more than I should of. But haven't you noticed that she hasn't aged since the last time you saw her fifteen years ago?"  
  
"That's right; she hasn't aged at all, has she? It's hard to notice things like that when you yourselves haven't aged." Riou said.  
  
The group then went into the mansion and began to look around at all of the rooms and the structure of the building. They look around on the main floor first and then went up to the second floor and looked in each room. They went into the library and looked at some of the books that they had there. Nanami got bored first and made the party continue their exploration of the mansion. They headed down the stairs and went to the first basement level. There was a slight breeze on this level and the group soon found out as to why there was; the castle wall open to a passageway to a large ship that had been washed up on the rocks next to the castle. They went into the ship and up onto the deck. There Teddy went straight to the bow of the ship and just gazed out over the ocean. The other three members of the group walked around the deck together until they met up with Teddy and told him that they were going to continue with their tour of the mansion now. He followed them out of the ship and down another level to where there were a series of jail cells. They walked passed these without much interest in them and came to a door which led to the outside. They went out it and saw the water right in front of them. There were a couple of buildings that were under going construction next to the water front, but this didn't interest the group too much. They set off to their left and up a slight hill. They came to the stairs that led to the courtyard where they had started; but instead of going up those, they continued along the path and out through some trees to a barn and a field. It looked like this would be suitable for horses, but there were none to be seen. The group was satisfied with what they had seen and decided to head back to the courtyard. They went back along the path which they had traversed and climbed the stairs to the courtyard.  
  
"Well, this is a nice place, but I think we should get back to Miss Lucia now and tell her what we have found out. We can take it easy going back because we have only been gone one day and we told her we would get back within a week, so we have time." Jowy said.  
  
Riou and Nanami said "Okay." And Teddy just nodded his head. The group then left the castle the same way they had entered it the previous day.  
  
And the young girl who was the guard waved bye with a big smile and said, "Come back soon, okay? And don't forget to tell all of your friends about us!"  
  
Nanami waved back saying, "We'll tell everyone we see, so don't worry!" The males of the group just shook their heads while continuing to walk.  
  
The group had walked about thirty minutes along the path when Teddy stopped in his tracks with a panicked look upon his face. He looked around and saw that there were some trees not too far away. He turned towards the other three members of the group who were confused as to what was going on and said to them, "I want you to run to those trees and stay out of sight, not matter what. Okay? I cannot explain what's going on right now, but I need you to trust me. Here, Nanami, hold this for me, okay?" He handed Nanami his sword from his belt.  
  
She then said, "Teddy, wait, won't you need this? We can't just leave you here. Especially when we have no clue what's going on and..." She was cut off when a dozen skeleton soldiers armed with swords and axes appeared out of nowhere and began to attack the group. Riou and Jowy quickly cleared the way to the trees that Teddy had pointed out earlier and dragged Nanami behind leaving Teddy behind to deal with the other eight skeleton warriors that were left.  
  
One of the monsters that was armed with a sword came up to Teddy and swung at him, but he side stepped the blow and grabbed the sword from the skeletons grip while punching its head off, literally. Two ax wielding skeletons came up to Teddy from both sides and swung at the same time. Teddy leapt six feet into the air, allowing the monsters to destroy each other. With the "borrowed" sword in his right hand, Teddy jumped on the shoulders of another ax wielding skeleton and drove the sword into its skull. As the beast dissolved into nothingness, Teddy grabbed its ax with his left hand and hurled it at another monster. The ax went straight through its body and into another monsters', destroying them both. By this time Riou, Jowy and Nanami had managed to safely make it to the tree line and wait there. Nanami just looked confused while holding onto Teddy's sword as Riou and Jowy had stern, concerned looks upon their faces.  
  
As Teddy was finishing the last two monsters, the ground rippled a golden light and three figures appeared from the glowing light. One in a mask and a green coat, another in a blue dress, and the last in black clothes and a black bowler hat. The woman in the blue dress immediately raised her wand and a portal open behind Teddy where a giant monster was opening its mouth. Teddy turned around in time to see the large purple blast of energy come at him. It hit him fully before he could dodge even a little. The blast also hit the mysterious trio that just showed up and hurt them a little as well. The masked man countered that easily though by raising his right hand and using powerful wind magic to heal him and his comrades while hurting Teddy even further. Teddy had been knocked to the ground by the double assault and his cape had been torn a lot by the blasts. His clothes had holes and cuts in them. He was bleeding and bruised, but managed to summon the same monster that the woman had. This time it was behind her and her friends. The monster hit them, but not Teddy because he jumped twenty feet into the air right after summoning the beast and dived down towards the masked man before he could heal his friends again. Teddy swung the sword he still had at the masked man, but the man was protected by the man in black who had stepped in front of the blow, using his two swords to hold off Teddy's sword from continuing the swing.  
  
Teddy jabbed the man in black with the tip of his shoe and then vaulted over the man in black to elbow drop the masked man. The man in black swung around and stabbed Teddy in the back with one of his swords. Teddy growled in pain and said, "Damn you, Yuber!" Yuber just chuckled and drove the sword all of the way through Teddy's side, making it protrude out from his stomach. Nanami gasped from the trees where she was hiding and turned very, very pale. Riou's and Jowy's jaws just tightened in tension. Teddy reversed the blade of the sword he had in his hand and drove it into Yuber's left side. Yuber coughed some blood up and released his grip on the sword in Teddy's back while backing up. Teddy let go of the sword he had stabbed into Yuber, and instead grabbed the handle of the sword in his back and yanked it out. He swore and summoned a wind spell to heal him and attack his foes. After the wind attack, Yuber fell to the ground laying on his back and coughing up blood. The masked man had regained his feet and was about to heal his friends again when Teddy ran up to him and kicked him in the face. Teddy was still bleeding and in a lot of pain, but continued the fight with a grunt and a contorted face. The woman in the blue dress healed her friends before Teddy could do anything to stop her. Yuber now had enough strength to try to stand up and did so. He was about to pull the sword from his abdomen when Teddy summoned a rock spike to smack Yuber in the face, knocking him back to the ground. This gave Teddy enough time to run up, jump in the air, and drive the sword in Yuber's belly all of the way through and into the ground with his foot. Teddy back flipped off the handle of the sword in Yuber's gut right before a shower of ice sickles would have hit him. The woman in the blue dress then created a wall of ice to protect her, the masked man, and Yuber from magic. Then the masked man summoned the giant monster from the portal behind Teddy. The monster hit Teddy again with the blast while he was in midair. The blast tore Teddy's cape to shreds and took most of his shirt too. The anti-magic ice wall protected the woman in the blue dress, the masked man, and Yuber from their own attack against Teddy. The masked man then used his wind magic to heal his comrades and attack Teddy at the same time. Teddy then was struck by a giant ball of lightening that came from the sky. Teddy's upper body now didn't have any clothes left upon it and his pants were full of holes. He was bleeding profusely now from where Yuber had stabbed him and he was covered in bleeding cuts and scrapes.  
  
The woman in the blues dress then healed her party with water magic as Teddy was standing up from the last assault. Teddy then summoned a giant flaming meteorite from the sky that landed on the woman in the blue dress, hurting everyone there. Yuber pushed the sword out of his gut and then threw it straight at Teddy's back where it hit him in the left side. Teddy yelled in pain and fell to the ground. Yuber ran up to him and was going to use the sword he had in his hand to separate Teddy's head from his body, but Teddy rolled out of the way just as the blade fell. Still, Yuber got a piece of Teddy; he had chopped off Teddy's long hair. Teddy jumped to his feet and backhanded Yuber with a closed fist in one fluid movement. Yuber stumbled a bit and then Teddy took the sword that was Yuber's, and had been stabbed into him, and stabbed Yuber in his side with it. As Yuber fell to the ground, Teddy took out the sword that was now in his left side with his left hand. He was covered in his own blood, but was about to finish off Yuber when he was hit by a blue ball of electrical light. This knocked him back about twenty feet and onto the ground.  
  
At this point, Riou and Jowy had to hold Nanami back from joining in on the fray. She was almost too much for them to hold back, but then Riou let go and hit her in the back of the head, knocking her out. "Sorry Nanami, but you wouldn't be of any help to him right now. Jowy, we have to go now. We'll head to that village we were at before. I have a feeling if we stick around that we could end up being killed and that's not what Teddy wanted." Jowy just nodded and helped Riou put the unconscious Nanami on his back. She was still clutching Teddy's sword as Riou and Jowy ran off with her on Riou's back.  
  
Teddy was lying on his back and bleeding when the masked man walked up to him. Teddy then asked in heavy gasps of air and very strained, "Why are you attacking me? I don't understand how this will help you to attain you goal."  
  
"We are doing this because I know that you will try to stop me from destroying this land. But you must understand that this land is just the sacrifice to let this world not have to suffer the fate of all the others." Explained the masked man.  
  
"Oh, is that all?" Teddy asked in a sarcastic voice. He then hopped onto his feet and punched the masked man hard enough to send him flying thirty feet and knock his mask off. The woman in the blue dress ran up to the now unmasked man who was clutching the mask in his right hand while glaring at Teddy. The unmasked man had features similar to Teddy: his eyes were the same, and so was the facial structure, and now their hair was about the same length, thanks to Yuber's cut. But Teddy's hair was very slightly a lighter shade of blonde.  
  
"Well, you're right about me not going to let you destroy this land over a problem that isn't a real one. Fate is what people make of it. This world will not turn out like you think. But I am not needed to stop you. I think someone else will do it for me." Teddy said. He was dripping blood on the ground and breathing heavily. Yuber had gotten up and was now holding both of his swords and was limping towards the others of his group.  
  
"I'm alright Sarah." The man in the green coat said as he put his mask back on and stood up. "But let's finish this before he can recuperate any more." She nodded and they prepared to continue the fight when they noticed that Teddy was chanting something in another language and was glowing a bright red colour. "Damn! We have to go right now!" Shouted the masked man. He summoned the golden portal under their feet just as an all consuming fire exploded from Teddy's body and headed straight towards them. The group slipped into the portal just as the fire reached them. The fire consumed all and became a large dome of crimson. It went a hundred feet into the air and a hundred feet outwards, destroying the grass and turning everything into ashes. Riou and Jowy were arriving at Iksay Village when they saw the fire in the night sky. 


	11. Recovery

Chapter XI: Recovery  
  
The three youths were sitting on the edge of two beds, facing each other, but not saying a word. Their mood contrasts that of everyone around them. The people of the village where they were at are preparing for their annual harvest festival and are full of giddiness, whereas the solemn youths are clearly depressed and dejected. The young lady of the group is clutching a sword with a grand handle made of gold and adorned with many jewels. She had just awoken when her two companions told her what they had seen the previous night as they arrived at the village. The girl suddenly brightened in facial expression and stood up saying, "It's going to be okay! He said that he couldn't die even without his rune, remember?"  
  
The young man with the long blonde hair looked up at her and said, "I know Nanami, but you shouldn't get your hopes up too high. That was a large explosion; I've never seen anything like it. I don't know if anything could have survived it."  
  
Nanami frowned and turned toward the other young man and said, "Riou, you don't think that's true, do you?"  
  
Riou looked up at her and smiled. "I think everything will be fine. If we wait here, Teddy should come back. We shouldn't worry." Nanami looked relieved at these words and smiled.  
  
Jowy frowned and tried to shake off his look of concern saying, "Well, I guess we should stay for the festival tonight. I think it will be fun." Riou nodded to this and Nanami's smile grew into a large grin, spreading from ear to ear. The trio then got up and headed down the stairs of the inn and went outside. Nanami was still clutching the sword as if it was her only reassurance of Teddy's hopefully imminent return. In the centre of the town there were several tables set up in a circular shape with many dishes of food upon them.  
  
Nanami walked out of the inn behind Riou and Jowy and glanced to her right and saw two knights of Zexen walking down the path from the entrance of the village. She paled and turned towards Riou and Jowy saying, "Guys, what are we going to do? There are Zexen knights here!"  
  
"Nanami, it's okay. They don't know who we are and I think they aren't here to fight. This is Zexen territory." Jowy told her.  
  
"Yeah, just act naturally and everything will be fine. We're here just to have some fun." Riou said, reassuring Nanami.  
  
She smiled and nodded her head. The knights walked passed them to talk to a woman of whom the male knight seemed to know. Riou, Jowy, and Nanami just continued looking at the various foods displayed on the table. The three of them walked around looking at the different things to see, but not talking to anyone until this small girl ran up and asked them if they wanted to play with her.  
  
Nanami smiled and said, "Sure we will. What's your name little girl?"  
  
"My name's Angie, but I'm not so little! I'm eight years old!" Angie said. She looked at the sword in Nanami's hand and asked, "Why do you have that? Are you a knight?"  
  
Nanami glanced at her right hand, almost forgetting what she held there, then looked back to the girl and said, "No, I'm not a knight. I'm holding this for a friend of mine. He's going to come back later to get it from me."  
  
Angie smiled and grabbed Nanami's left wrist to lead her off to play. Riou and Jowy just followed with smiles upon their faces. Angie led the group to play behind some houses across from the inn. They passed a strange man dressed in a ninja outfit as they walked behind the houses. Angie waved to the strange man only to get an odd stare as a return. She didn't seem to mind, though.  
  
When they got to the behind of the houses Angie said, "Hey! I wanna play tag, okay? You guys can play too! Oh, I almost forgot to ask you your names."  
  
"Oh, my name is Nanami. This is my brother, Riou. And this is our friend, Jowy." Nanami said as she pointed out Riou and Jowy when she said their names. Riou waved with a big smile on his face as Jowy just shook his head and then waved to the girl. Riou set his weapons down next to the house as Jowy did the same with his. Nanami saw this and set Teddy's sheathed sword down next to her own weapons.  
  
Angie looked at them as they did this and asked, "If you're not knights, then why do you carry weapons?"  
  
"Oh, that's because we are travelers and we use them to fight monsters when we travel." Jowy said coolly.  
  
As Angie was being distracted by Jowy's explanation, Nanami ran up to her and tagged her. Angie giggled and started to chase Nanami. The boys jumped in and they played tag for a while. After a while of tag, they began to play hide-and-go-seek. Riou was "it" and was looking for someone as it started to get dark out. Then just as the sun was setting, Riou noticed lines of Lizard warriors up on a hill preparing to charge.  
  
"Oh no. I think this game is over right now. Jowy! Nanami! Come on out. We have to get out of here now." Riou said. Jowy came out of his hiding place and saw what had caused Riou to worry.  
  
Nanami, thinking that Riou was just trying to lure her out, said, "You can't trick me. I'm not coming out."  
  
"Nanami, he's not trying to trick you. It looks like the Lizard Clan is about to sack this village." Jowy said.  
  
Nanami immediately popped out of her hiding spot and looked to the hill to see what they were talking about. She gasped at what she saw and then ran to get their weapons. She tossed Riou and Jowy theirs and gripped Teddy's sword in her hand.  
  
Angie walked out of her hiding spot to see what was going on and asked, "Why are we stopping? What's happening?"  
  
Nanami looked at Angie and then turned towards Riou and Jowy asking, "What are we going to do with her? Can we take her with us for a little while so she doesn't get hurt?"  
  
Jowy frowned, but Riou said, "Of course, but I don't know where we can take her to be safe."  
  
"There is a fort a little south of here. It's Zexen and we can take her there. I think I can find our way there." Jowy said.  
  
"Are you sure?" Nanami asked.  
  
"Yes, I've studied some maps of the area and I think I can find it." Jowy said. "But we have to move quickly."  
  
Nanami walked up to Angie and said, "Okay, sweetie, we are going to go on a short trip, okay? So climb up on my back and I'm going to give you a piggy back ride."  
  
Angie nodded and complied. The Lizards began to charge down the hill as Riou, Jowy, and Nanami with Angie on her back ran across the street and hopped over a fence. They cut across a large green field, running south as fast as they could. Angie started to cry as screams could be heard in the background. 


	12. Who is he?

Chapter XII: Who is he?

The field, covered in ash of the incinerated grass, crunched under the fair skinned young lady who approached the centre of the burn patch.

She looked to be about sixteen years of age with pale skin and silvery hair. And not too pleased looking as she stopped at the centre. Looking down at a mass covered in ashes she pulled back her right foot and kicked as hard as she could. The mass gasped in pain and curled into a ball. Dissatisfied, the girl kept kicking. The mass, now visibly the shape of a man, finally rolled out of the range of attack before staggering into a standing position.

"Not appreciated, Sierra, _not_ appreciated." Teddy gasped. "Nice to see you too."

"Glad to help, Arrows. So I haven't seen you recently. I heard you joined the Dunan Liberation Army, but I didn't see you. Were you avoiding me, lover boy?"

"Quite possibly." Teddys said as he straightened up. Still covered in ashes, but with shirt missing and pants turned into shorts, could still obviously been seen as fatigued. "And if you're going to use that name of mine, at least pronounce it correctly, you old hag." Sierra's eyebrow twitched at his 'old' remark.

"Well, since your rune was named after you, your name is hard to mention around mages without confusion, Eros. But then again, that's not even your real name, is it now?" Teddy just bared one of his k-nines. "What do you go by nowadays?"

"Teddy."

"How quiant!" Sierra chuckled. "Am I the only girl who knows your real name?"

"There's no need to drag up the past. I need rest and you disturbed my nap, so how are you going to repay me?" He asked as he glared at her.

She blushed before answering, "Oh, I can't do that - I'm a married woman now." Teddy rolled his eyes.

"Ugh... Not what I meant. I'm not the same as I used to be. What I need now are funds so I can go recurporate. And since my funds..." He gestured towards his person, "are no longer with me, I need your assistance. By the way, what the hall are you doing here in the Grasslands? It seems the last few days have been a great big reunion party for me. And I'm just about done with this rehashing of my past. Oh, and congratulations for your union."

"Thank you, that means alot coming from you. But I might be tempted to break my vows if you ask me. I know of a small manor town not far from here where I can help you _heal_ if you want." Sierra approached Teddy helped him to stand up straighter, giving him support which he badly needed.

"Tempting offer, but I'll have to decline. There's a girl I, uh, fancy. I suppose. Back to Budehuc for me then. Who's the lucky man?" The pair started to move off when clouds of smoke began to appear off in the distance. And from the opposite direction a man wielding dual hatches was running at full speed towards them. "Shit."

"Some one you know, Ero, er, Teddy?"

"Unfortunately. A man named Kielbasa who won't stay dead."

"What did you do to him?" Teddy glared at her before mumbling and turning away.

"I impregnated his wife, accidentally." Sierra just clucked her tongue at him. "I guess some of the Immortality Rune rubbed of on him somehow."

"Still collecting runes then? Never heard of that one, must be one you found after you left me in the village. Unless you were hiding one from me."

"I hid nothing from you. I just have to find the runes before _he _does. And it gives me an excuse for my immortality."

"Oh." Kielbasa was fast approaching when he started yelling, "Micah! You're a deadman!"

"Micah?" Sierra asked.

"Don't, just don't."

"Okay, if you say so, Micah, you stallion, you!" As Kielbasa was just upon them a giant wild boar came running across and gored him with his tusks. Taking Kielbasa away. "That's gotta hurt."

"On second thoughts, let's go to Brass Castle to the south. More likely to met up with my friends there. Then you can go back to the waiting arms of your husband. By the way, is he good looking?"

"Oh, just some blondie. What friends?"

"Riou and his friends."

"Oh, well, I might say high to them as well."


	13. Betrayal!

Chapter XIII: Betrayal?

Teddy and Sierra were walking together, heading south. Teddy was limping slightly, but was using Sierra's shoulder as a sort of crutch. The sun was begining to set, but the sky was still brightly lit by a red firey glow in the direction the pair were heading.

"Sierra, those flames are begining to concern me." Teddy said. Sierra nearly stopped to do a doubletake on him.

"Oh, really? Just begining to get your attention, is it?" Teddy looked to the south for a while before getting Sierra to stop completely.

"You know, the town we're heading to is in that direction. And I believe that's it burning to the ground. I hope that Nash wasn't lying to me and that Harmonia moved early."

"Nash? Nash was in that town? He told me to wait at Budehuc, but I had got bored. For his sake I hope he's not helping burn a village down." Teddy's left eyebrow went up before saying, "So Nash is the blondie you hooked up with? I didn't see that one coming."

Sierra's eyes went wide with the realization of what she revealed to her old lover. "Listen, Eros, please don't get jealous and kill him. I mean, I know you've had other loves since me. So don't kill him. You can't expect me to stay faithful to a man who's never there." Sierra was talking fast out of fear. "I didn't even know that you two knew each other. I thought you would avoid Harmonia as much as you could and it never crossed my mind that you two would run into each other."

"Woah, Sierra, calm down. I'm not going to kill him. I'm not even a little jealous. It's been centuries since I saw you. Which means I'm not the same person as I used to be. I don't spend my time drinking my problems away or releasing my aggression of petty things like jealousy. If anything, I'm amused that you wound up with him. I'll have to get you to tell me the story how that happened."

"Really, you're not mad?" Sierra asked, relief creaping into her vioce. Teddy shook his head. "I'm glad you're not upset."

"I find it interesting to note that he doesn't inform you much of his work. Or maybe he just didn't mention me or any names in general, especially when I saw him a few years ago. But maybe if we have the time the three of us could sit down and chat. But first let's see what we can do about meeting up with the rest of my happy-go-lucky party."

Sierra and Teddy were about to continue onwards when Stephen teleported in front of them, his katana on one hip and Howling Voice Guild weapon on the other. A hand resting on each.

"Hello Uncle. After some consinderation I think it's in my best interest, and my nation's best interest, to apprehend you, at the cost of your life needed, and confinscate and True Runes in your possesion. Seeing as this is the best opportunity to overcome your great skill and kill you. But I won't be attempting this alone, I'm not that foolish. I do have my Advanced Assualt Squad to assist me." After Stephen finished speaking, four men in dark blue armor with the white Harmonia insignia on the chest of the armor. They wore light-weight helmets with a blue scarf covering their their faces. Each had gunpowder operated rifles in their hands. Two had swords on their waist and the two had spears strapped to their backs.

"Let me guess, the Harmonian masked Bishop mentioned this idea to you, didn't he Stephen?" Teddy asked.

"What of it Uncle?"

"Does your father know about this scheme of yours?"

"No, the glory will be mine when I reveal it to all the bishops and the council. I may even take my father's place. No one has seen him in years, maybe he's already dead!" Stephen raised his left hand and the four Harmonians raised their rifles to aim at Sierra and Teddy. Teddy lifted himself off Sierra shoulder.

"Sierra, up!" Teddy said as the Harmonians fired their weapons. Sierra jumped straight up to avoid the volley. Teddy threw out his left hand and created a thick layer of wind to stop the progression of the bullets. As Sierra was in midair she threw several silver coloured knives at the Harmonians. They jumped back to avoid them. They tried to reload their weapons, but before they could Teddy was upon them. Waving a hand to start a runic fire across the grass at the assualt squad, Teddy closed the distance on one of the Harmonians with a sword. Upercutting him in the jaw, Teddy grabbed the soldiers sheathed sword and pulled it out to swing at another Harmonian. The Harmonian barely ducked in time, but Stephen wasn't going to give Teddy any quarter.

Stephen pounced on Teddy, swinging his katana at Teddy's head. Teddy ducked and sent a ball of flame directed at Stephen's chest. Stephen caught full on and was knocked back, hitting the ground and rolling in a smoldering ball. Teddy turned his attenion back to the Harmonian that he had robbed of his weapon. Teddy reached out and grabbed the man's face. Before the man could struggle away, Teddy ran the man's own sword through the weak spot of the armour, in the bellie between the stomach plate and groin plate. The man gasped in pain as Teddy released him and jumped into the air. Teddy landed on his shoulders and drove the man's sword through his eyesocket, killing him. Stephen and two Harmonians were behind Teddy and were preparing to strike when Sierra launched a black sphere at them using her darkness rune. While distracted by Sierra's attack, Teddy sent lightning from his fingertips at Stephen and the two Harmonians behind him. They staggered back a bit and Teddy threw the sword in his hand at Stephen's head. Stephen ducked and the blade went through the neck of one of the Harmonians. The Harmonian fell backward onto the ground.

Teddy turned back around and charged at a Harmonian fumbling to attack him a spear. The Harmonians were well trained and on an elite standing on their own, but they were no much for Teddy, even in his wounded condintion. The Harmonian before Teddy relized he was doomed and let his fear over come him, even though his harsh training was meant to prevent such a thing. In that moment of fear, Teddy overcame him, putting his hand on the Harmonian's face. Teddy then unleashed an intense burst of lightning on the man's skull until he was smoking. The man went limp, letting his weapon drop to the ground. Teddy released the man and picked up the falled soldier's weapon.

Sierra had been holding off Stephen and the last remaining soldier, but was starting to lose to their superior combat skills. Teddy ran up to Stephen and snap kicked him to the face, sending the younger man off his feet. Not wasting a moment Sierra sent a darkness ball at Stephen to send him flyiing farther. Teddy threw the spear across the back of his shoulders, holding part of the staff portion of it in his left hand to guide it. Using his right hand to jab it at the Harmonian. Teddy first aimed it at his feet then at his chest, then head. Teddy kept up the relentless attack and the Harmonian could only defend himself using his sword. But while he was distracted Sierra snuck behind him and grabbed him. Unable to move, Teddy stabbed the man in the belly. As the man's eyes went wide in pain, Sierra bit down into his neck, draining his blood. Dropping the man, the two turned towards Stephen who was staring in shock at Sierra and then at Teddy, and then back again.

"Legs." Teddy said to Sierra as she jumped up and Teddy left the spear in the dead man's gut and picked up his sword instead. He then started running after the now fleeing Stephen. They started running as fast as their injured selves could. Sierra flew after them, barely keeping up, but was managing due to her power increase from sucking blood. She threw more silver knives at Stephen, but he just jumped up. Teddy jumped up and closed the distance, swinging to hit Stephen's torso. Stephen dodged but was hit in the chest, stomach, and legs by Sierra's knives. Stephen fell to the ground and landed on his knees. Teddy landed in front of him and used a two handed grip swing aimed at Stephen's neck. Before Stephen could respond, his head was on the ground. Teddy walked away as nephew's body hit the ground.

"Sierra, collect the weapons and burn the bodies for me. We'll sell what we can when we get to Budehuc tonight. I need a nap." Teddy said as he walked by her towards a tree he could lean upon.

"Eros..." Was all Sierra could whisper as she set upon her grim task. She shed a tear for Teddy's pain that he did not share aloud.


End file.
